The Harvard Connection

I never would have guessed that I would be spending so much time with other Harvardians during my stay in Shanghai. In addition to my friends who are also living and working here, I’ve been meeting other classmates and recent alumnae and making plenty of new friends.

Last week, all of the undergraduate interns in Shanghai went out to dinner at a local Thai restaurant. (As my mother knows only too well, I’m a huge fan of pad thai and this restaurant definitely did not disappoint! The pad thai was served in a bowl made of crepe. Points for creativity.)

After dinner we went to a bar called Windows. (Every time I think of the name I think of the desktop PC I struggle to use at work and remember how much I miss my trusty Apple Macbook!) A few hours and, for some of the patrons, more than a few drinks later, Windows morphed from a dive bar to a dive club. Although the crowd was composed of mostly local Chinese, there were a few ex-pats (mostly men) sprinkled in. My favorite was a middle-aged German guy visiting for the week on business. He had to be close to 50, but he was dancing like a wild man. It was possibly one of the funniest things I witnessed all week (especially since China blocks Youtube…). His dancing was even more hilarious than the videos my parents sent me of people dancing at their 25th wedding anniversary party!


This past Tuesday was yet another Harvard-filled day, as I was fortunate enough to join some alums for dinner. I was invited by an ex-President of HAPA, and when he said he was inviting some of his friends, I got a bit intimidated by the thought of being the lone 21- in what was sure to be a group in their mid-20s and up, so I invited my friend Henry to come along with me.

First, Henry and I went to the Hyatt on the Bund to see a Cirque de Solei performance (the one that the lady tipped us off about earlier in the month, as I’d mentioned last week). There were some impressive performances, but we were overall disappointed that it seemed to be Cirque de Solei: the Cocktail Edition, and was considerably less dynamic and captivating than the original.

Afterward, we set off to meet the alums at The Strip on the 6th floor of the Ascott Hotel. It was a newly minted restaurant/lounge—dimly lit with glossy black bar tops and well-mixed cocktails, it was clearly ultra-chic. It was an open-air space that merged into a large patio with sleek candle-lit tables that had a fantastic view of Shanghai’s brightly lit skyscrapers.

It turned out that our host was a share-holder in the restaurant, and he generously treated us to the best The Strip had to offer. After delicious US-imported steaks (which are somewhat contraband and can only be obtained through Hong Kong), truffle macaroni, and many bottles of red wine from Napa Valley, the age gap seemed to disappear. We all ended up having a fabulous time! Not only did I get a great meal and some new friends, but also some very sage advice from the (somewhat) recent graduates of classes ’03 and ’05.

Oh, and the fun continued after dinner, as Henry and shared a good laugh during the cab ride home, having realized that all of the alums and their friends and co-workers thought that we were dating. (Henry is gay, so we obviously are not.)